Article appeared Friday, October 25th, 2013 in The News Today, Bangladesh

The Revelation (299)

yousuf mahbubul Islam, PhD

Is there a need for belief to be demonstrated or proven? Most of us say or claim belief in the Creator; however, if this claim were put to the test, how would each perform? Without a test, can the validity of belief be established? In general, to test human abilities and skills, we have a variety of exams that certify the ability or skill. We have authorities that set the standard of the ability or skill, set the exam questions, deliver and mark the exam. It is only when a person achieves pre-set benchmarked results that he/she is admitted to the class of qualified people. So when it comes to testing belief, who is the authority qualified to set the standard of what belief means, set the questions of belief, deliver the test on belief and certify whether or not one believes? If it is the Creator, then how would He set the standard, set the questions, deliver the test and mark the result? Logically, since the concept of belief is related directly to the Creator, there is no authority other than Him qualified to set the standard, prepare the questions, deliver the test and admit a person to the class of qualified believers. In this regard, the most recent Revelation, the Quran, poses a logical question: is not His the Command? And He is the swiftest in taking account. [6.62] Additionally, we are warned that not only does He take note of everything but is the fastest in taking account account of what? What we do in our day-to-day situations or when we are put to a test. In case we are unsure of the reality of the Creator, the subsequent Verse reminds us that He is the same Deity that we call on when in trouble. And therefore asks, who delivers you from the dark recesses of land and sea when you call upon Him in humility and silent terror: (during such occasions, we also make promises to Him) if He only delivers us from these (dangers) (we vow) we shall truly show our gratitude' [6.63] Since it is not possible for human beings to certify the standard of belief, how can one find the standard, the questions, the tests and understand the quality of belief? The only place we can hope to find answers is in the holy Scriptures directly Revealed time to time by the Creator. The subsequent Verse points out that unfortunately we fail to show gratitude to the Creator after coming out of trouble. Say: "It is Allah that delivers you from these and all (other) distresses: and yet you worship false gods!" [6.64] How can one fall into worshipping false gods? For example, if we feel it is our intellect that has engineered us out of trouble we will have credited our intellect and turned it into a false god. The problems we face are all individual tests. Say: "He has the power to send calamities on you from above and below or to cover you with confusion in party strife giving you a taste of mutual vengeance each from the other." See how We explain the Signs by various (symbols) that they may understand. [6.65] So not only calamities, but also mutual rivalry that we face, is a test. Who do we fear more? Do we trust the Creator to protect us or do we fear the enemy more? Such fear boils down to a question and test of belief. History stands witness to how the Creator helped those who trusted Him against those who disbelieved. One such confrontation mentioned in the Quran is the Battle of Badr{1}. The Verses below describe a number of events or points at which a demonstration of belief was required by the Creator during the battle.

8.5 Just as your Lord ordered you out of your house in truth even though a party among the believers disliked it.
There are those who feel fighting is wrong or are afraid of fighting. At the Battle of Badr, however, the order was to fight those opposing the religion being Revealed through Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). True believers were therefore expected to follow orders.

8.6 Disputing with you concerning the truth after it was made manifest as if they were being driven to death and they (actually) saw it.
The people opposed to fighting felt they were being ordered to commit suicide. There were only 313 ill-equipped believers, whereas the disbelievers consisted of a well-equipped army of 950 people. Allah had ordered the believers to fight against such odds, putting their trust in Him.

8.7 Behold! Allah promised you one of the two (enemy) parties that it should be yours: you wished that the one unarmed should be yours but Allah willed to justify the truth according to His words and to cut off the roots of the unbelievers.
At the beginning, to test their belief, the believers were offered two alternatives fight the wellequipped army of disbelievers as desired by the Creator or capture the unarmed caravan with a lot of booty as a temptation. This was another difficult test.

8.8 That He might justify and prove falsehood false, distasteful though it was to those in guilt. 8.9 Remember you implored the assistance of your Lord and He answered you: "I will assist you with a thousand of the angels in ranks on ranks." 8.10 Allah made it but a message of hope and an assurance to your heart: (in any case) there is no help except that from Allah: and Allah is exalted in power wise. 8.11 Remember He covered you with a sort of drowsiness to give you calm as from Himself and He caused rain to descend on you from heaven to clean you therewith to remove from you the stain of Satan to strengthen your hearts and to plant your feet firmly therewith. 8.12 Remember your Lord inspired the angels (with the message): "I am with you: give firmness to the believers: I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers: smite you above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off them."
Why? Allah delivered a humiliating punishment at the hands of the believers.

8.13 This because they contended against Allah and His apostle: if any contend against Allah and His apostle Allah is strict in meting out punishment.
The decisive victory showed how Allah helps when He is trusted. This victory changed the course of history. The battle has been passed down in Islamic history as a decisive victory attributed to divine intervention{1}, ------{Notes}: {1} http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Badr#Badr_in_the_Qur.27an